Three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will be without the services of their pacer Harshit Rana as he was ruled out of the entire IPL 2026 on Friday. The young pacer suffered a ligament strain in his right knee during India’s T20 World Cup warm-up game against South Africa, following which he underwent surgery in February, needing an extensive rehabilitation process.
“It is a big blow because Harshit Rana has been an integral part of this team for the last couple of seasons, also the championship season. Over the last year, he’s really grown as a cricketer,” head coach Abhishek Nayar said, without giving a confirmed timeline for Rana’s return to action. “We will always miss Harshit Rana, it’s not easy to replace him. But over the last few days, we’ve looked at a few bowlers as to who fits in and who can do that role to the best of their prowess. Hopefully, we’ll take a call in a couple of days,” Nayar added.
This is second injury to a pacer in the KKR camp with their Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana also suffering an injury. “Matheesha Pathirana, who has requested NOC to participate in 2026, is yet to undergo the Physical Performance Test, as he is still undergoing rehabilitation to recover from injury sustained. He will undergo the tests upon completion of the recovery and rehabilitation programs,” the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) later said in a release.
, Akash Madhwal, Simarjeet Singh, Sandeep Warrier and KM Asif are some of the fast bowlers who were seen at the Eden Gardens this week, training ahead of the IPL. The IPL start on March 28, and KKR’s campaign starts against on March 29, followed by their first home match against on April 2.
Even before the start of the season, IPL has been plagued with injuries with losing Nathan Ellis and losing Sam Curran. The Australian trio of Mitchell Starc (), Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Josh Hazlewood () is also set to miss the few early games. In absence of Cummins, have named Ishan Kishan as their new captain.
